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Armored vehicles rammed the doors of Bolivia’s government palace this morning in an apparent coup attempt against President Luis Arce, but he vowed to stand firm and appointed a new army commander who ordered troops to withdraw.
The soldiers later withdrew as Arce’s supporters waved Bolivian flags and cheered in a central square.
In a video of Arce surrounded by ministers in the palace, the Bolivian leader said: “Here we are, firmly in Casa Grande, to face any coup attempt. We need the Bolivian people to organize.”
Arce confronted the army commander-in-chief – Juan Jose Zuniga, who appeared to be leading the rebellion – in a palace corridor, as shown on video on Bolivian television. “I am your captain and I order you to withdraw your soldiers and I will not allow this insubordination,” Arce said.
Before entering the government building, Zuniga told journalists in the square: “There will certainly be a new cabinet of ministers soon; our country, our country cannot go on like this.” But, he said, ‘for now’ he recognizes Arce as commander-in-chief.
Zuniga did not specifically say he was leading a coup, but inside the palace, with thunder booming behind him, he said the army was trying to “restore democracy and free our political prisoners.”
In a message on his X account, Arce called for “respect for democracy.” This happened when Bolivian television showed two tanks and several men in military uniform outside the government palace.
“We cannot allow another coup attempt to take the lives of Bolivians,” he said from inside the palace, surrounded by government officials, in a video message sent to news outlets.
An hour later, Arce announced new heads of the army, navy and air force to roars of supporters. Video footage showed troops setting up roadblocks outside the government palace.
“I am ordering all those who are mobilized to return to their units,” said newly appointed Army Chief Jose Wilson Sanchez. “Nobody wants the images we see on the streets.”
Soon after, troops and armored vehicles began to withdraw from the Bolivian presidential palace.
The leadership of the largest trade union in Bolivia condemned the action and announced an indefinite strike of social and labor organizations in La Paz in defense of the government.
A grim end for the Nazi spies who conspired to unleash mayhem
The incident was met with a wave of outrage from other regional leaders, including the Organization of American States; Gabriel Borich, president of neighboring Chile; the Honduran leader and former Bolivian leaders.
Bolivia, a country of 12 million people, has seen growing protests in recent months as its economy plummeted from one of the continent’s fastest-growing two decades ago to one of the hardest hit by the crisis.
The country also witnessed a major rift in the highest echelons of the ruling party.
Arce and his one-time ally, left-wing icon and former president Evo Morales, are battling over the future of Bolivia’s splintered Movement for Socialism, known by its Spanish acronym MAS, ahead of the 2025 elections.
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